I just called my new gi and told him i cannot take the asacol anymore because it making my diarrhea, abdominal pain and bleeding worse. He actually wants toknow what i want to switch to. I told him lialda because ive heard good things. But am curious if any one else had had the same problem with asacol and swithched to something that actually stopped the flare.

Lialda is similiar to Asacol and if Asacol is giving you troubles then Lialda might do so too. You can ask for Colazal which is slightly different the Lialda and Asacol. I took Asacol for years then I couldn't tolerate it anymore but I have no troubles with Colazal.

I disagree with Red because I was on Colazal and it didn't work for me at ALL, but just switched to Lialda and it seems to be doing really good things for me.Had stomach problems whole life.. on and off. Could never figure out what it was or why it was going on. about a year and a half ago I went to the dr cuz I was running to the bathroom and it was ruining my life.. my stomach problems were back and wouldn't go away. Went to the reg dr. and he took xrays and I was constipated with D. He referred me to a GI.

After tons of testing and diff. GIs. I had a colonoscopy and it came back as IBD either Crohns or UC... they couldn't decide. I took a dye test and they ruled it as UC because they said Crohns always comes up on it and it didn't.

Finally diagnosed with UC March 07

Initially put on Colazal.. it didn't really work. Was never really symptom free.. so I guess a ongoing flare for a year and a half?

Just got over a HORRIBLE flare up and was put on pred and lialda... Seems to be working.

Medications: Colazal 3 3x a day

Started taking Prednisone- 40mg and Lialda- 2 a day both in the morning one time only on 10/30/07 Haven't started tapering yet.

Well im willing to try anything at this point!My gi was supposed to call in Lialda but didnt. He said he never heard of it. So i suggested he call in what he thought would be best. Called the pharmacy and they said he never called. Now the exchange says i have to wait til Monday and call the office. I guess 10 diarrhea bloody terribly painful stools and not being able to eat anything isnt an emergency to them. Boy i bet theyd act differently if they even knew what this disease does to a persons body and life!Im bed ridden and cant even think about going to work because of the pain and diarrhea. As long as we're all sick the gi's jobs are secure. Sorry just a bit frustrated and needed to vent.

Good for you for trying to get your doctor to prescribe another med. But why on earth would a doctor ask the patient, "well, what drug do you want?" That is probably the best way to tell you have an incompetant doctor.

If you look back in the postings here, you'll see that Red_34 asked what the difference was between all the 5-ASA drugs. Some are released higher up in the colon, some lower. My understanding is that depending on where your inflamation is,some of these drugs are better than others for you. Also, if you are allergic to an agent in the Asacol, maybe you need one of the drugs that has some other ingredients. I don't know enough about it to speak intelligently about it.

BUT -- I can tell you that my doctors (I've had 3) switched me from Asacol to Colazal, to Pentasa, to Dipentum and then finally to 6MP, which is working. Each time they made a switch, they had a really good case for why I should try the different drug. And at least I felt that I'd tried everything before I went to the 6MP which is a more serious drug. (An immunosuppressor.)

If I were treating myself, which is sounds like you are being asked to do, I ask for Cortifoam (rectal foam). Rather than the Prednisone, it will only be absorbed locally and will soothe the part of you that's probably pretty irritated from all that bloody D. You can safely use it twice a day for a short period of time. The best (most famous and expensive) GI in NYC told me that, so I trust it.

A previous post mentioned sulfasazaline. If you are allergic to the Asacol, I'd be pretty careful about trying a sulfa drug. The common allergic reaction to sulfa is fever and hives though the allergic reaction can be stopped quickly with.. you guessed it, Prednisone.

Sorry for the long post. I hope you get some relief this weekend.-------UC for the last ten yearsCurrent Meds: 6MPPast Meds: You name it; I've tried it.

The morning has just begun but i think im feeling a bit better today. I had a formed stool. My tummy still hurts. I really feel it was the asacol. Ill keep you posted. Thanks everyone!When i go on Tuesday i am gonna ask for the cortifoam.Given up on oral meds for right now. That asacol made me way to sick.

butterfly...where in the colon is your UC...limited or throughout?It'll be worth for you to try some of the other meds if one isn't working....but you should be on rectal meds as well. I hope the cortifoam works.

Actually its in the upper middle and lower part of the colon.I had a colonoscopy in July and was in remission. But about a month ago i started this horrible flare. Its the worst yet. Maybe its an age thing. It seems since i turned 40 i cant bounce back from health issues the way i use to.

Please ask your physician to look up Lialda. Or, you could do it yourself. I was in agony for 18months and one day called my GI and was asked it I'd like to be on a drug study. The drug was Lialda. It has been wonderful for me. The overwhelming fatigue was beginning to lift in less than 2 weeks. I started feeling much, much better in 4 weeks. I "failed" the study since I was not healed enough but I would not go off it for anything. It finally has me back to normal or as normal as anyone with this "curse" to feel.

I was just thinking that if your doctor doesn't know what to prescribe for you when you see him on Tuesday, you should tell him to sign on here and ask Quincy or Old Hat! lol-------UC for the last ten yearsCurrent Meds: 6MPPast Meds: You name it; I've tried it.

Ya i feel like telling him you'd be amazed how truly educated you could definently become in your gi profession if you'd just sign on to the healing well uc forum and talk to people who live with this disease on a daily basis! All us gunea pigs!lol

julee70 said...But why on earth would a doctor ask the patient, "well, what drug do you want?" That is probably the best way to tell you have an incompetant doctor.

Agreed. I'd be looking for another doctor.

Quite a few folks have reported asacol actually making their symptoms worse. The older drug, sulfasalazine worked for me, but it's an individual thing that may take some trial and error.Diagnosed with ulcerative colitis spring 1999

Therapeutic dose sulfasalazine, back on a pred taper for first flare in years. Down to 10 mg and feeling much better.

hey guys thank you so much for checking on me! i saw my new gi and he was very nice and compassionate. he switched me from asacol to lialda. im wondering if anyone else has tried this. i took my first dose today and have felt nauseated and weird. isnt this the same med as asacol? the gi said we will try meds til we find one that works.the lialda was 45 dollars so i was hoping it would work.should i give it a couple days?

I have reacted horribly sdo far to every 5ASA but have yet to try Lialda. In each case (coated sulfasalazine, asacol, dipentum and colazol) I got severe to extreme abdominal pains, D and bleeding, so I am afraid to try Lialda, especially since you take fewer per day i..e each one has more active drug in it, and being coated you can't chop it into a smaller size to try it. However, it sounds like your adverse reaction to 5ASA's has not been quite as obvious (?) as my case and in any case you have started the Lialda so you will know within a few days. (My adverse reactions were severe enough that I had to end within 24 h).Pancolitis dx'd 1986, full med-free remission 88-97

I'm so sorry to hear you're still not feeling well. Don't give up! I know it sucks dealing with all of this, but I'm glad your GI is working with you to help you try new meds. Hopefully, one of them will work soon. I think a lot of people here who couldn't tolerate Asacol had a better time with Colazol.23 years oldDiagnosed with UC March 2007Current inflamation in the rectumAsacol 4 tablets 3x/day

I would really give colazal a try before i gave up. I was flaring for a year, coulden't get off steroids and was feeling like i had no future. Asacol DESTROYED me, it made my bloody D so much worse. Anyway I tried colazal and within 2 days on it was in remission and have been ever since, except for a little tussle i had with a parasite in ecuador...Winni, 24

Diagnosed UC july 2006.medications: prednisone 10 mg and tapering, colazal 9 dailysupplements:probiotics,calcium and iron supplements, aloe vera gel, kombucha and cinnamon tea.osteopenia from 1 year of being off and on prednisone.http://www.myspace.com/harshrealmbro